Monday, September 15, 2014

Recipe: Healthy Homemade Honey Vanilla Granola

I come from a long line of killers... cereal killers. It's bad, guys - box after box of cereal disappears in the blink of an eye - and if it's granola? It's gone in seconds. Good granola is expensive, however, so this cereal killing habit can get quite expensive. That's why granola was always a treat in the SIL house - until Kristy perfected the ultimate healthy granola recipe.

Unlike store bought granola, this granola is refined sugar free, gluten free*, low fat and contains just five ingredients instead of thirty three unpronounceable ones.It's also super cheap to make - we worked out that a big batch of this granola costs us around $3! You wouldn't even get a bowl of homemade granola in a cafe for that much! And you certainly wouldn't get the same amount of store-bought granola for $3.

I make a big batch of this every two or so weeks and the whole family loves it - it's crunchy, just perfectly sweet and delicious on its own or as a yogurt topping. Jesse likes his on top of yogurt with fresh banana whilst I like mine with cottage cheese, peanut butter, chia seeds and fresh strawberries or banana - but my Dad? He likes his straight up.

We like to keep things simple with this granola, however, you can add in whatever dried fruits, nuts or spices you like!

So let me share the recipe with you >>

Granola, Breakfast, Healthy, Gluten Free

Breakfast

Yield: 4 1/2 cupsAuthor: Southern In Law

Healthy Homemade Vanilla Honey Granola

Put down the shop bought granola and try making your own Healthy Homemade Granola! This Low Fat Honey Vanilla Granola Recipe is also gluten free and uses just five ingredients. It is super simple to make and yields a large amount for just $3!

Stir until all of your oats are coated and pour onto your prepared baking sheets - spreading out slightly but still leaving clumps for crunchy granola clusters.

Place your granola trays into the oven and bake for ~20-45 minutes (depending on your oven and how much granola you have) or until your granola is golden and crunchy and not too sticky to touch. Rotate the pans during baking to ensure they are evenly cooked.

Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight jar or granola. We've never had a batch of granola last more than a month (and that was after hiding it to test freshness), however, it will keep fresh for quite some time stored at room temperature in a sealed container!

NOTES:

*Find out more about Oats on a Gluten Free Diet at http://www.southerninlaw.com/2013/06/are-oats-gluten-free-where-to-buy-gluten-free-oats-in-australia.html . If you cannot tolerate oats you may use quinoa flakes instead, however, this will change the taste dramatically.
**The egg white isn't a must, however, we do recommend it for super crunchy granola with delicious clusters!

Interesting! Egg white sounds liike the puuurrfect addition and yet I've never thought of adding it to granola. I get so frustrated at the store because as soon as I see granola on the shelves i want some right this instant, but I don't want to impulse buy since it's so pricey. So silly but it's a dilemma, right? #cestlavie ;)

I am with you - I only buy used to buy it when it came on sale, haha. A couple of months ago I bought granola because, well, I was being lazy - and the entire family complained until I made a batch of homemade granola :P

So yummy so glad I found this recipe. I just made some and figured out the nutritional value based on the brands I used and this saves me 100 calories per 1/2 cup serving!! Thank you thank you from a mama who needs to get back to my pre baby size!!

I made this with my seven year old daughter earlier in the week. We, too, can take down boxes of store bought granola which are crazy expensive and full of extra stuff. I did tweak the recipe by adding a quarter cup flax seeds and less than that of sunflower seeds and a couple of tablespoons of unsweetened coconut. Upon first tasting I definitely noticed the missing layer of store bought sweetness but what that does is bring out the crunchy oat flavor. As the week has progressed I like the granola more and more! I think this is my new favorite granola! Thank you!

Hey there, I'm so glad you loved the recipe! If you want the granola to be sweeter in the future, just add some more honey - we've found we actually prefer it not so sweet as it means we can add fruit or flavourings of our choice and we're not suffering from serious sugar crashes and turning into hunger monsters before lunch :P xx

Hey Scott, I am so glad you loved the recipe! To make it less chewy, bake it for the suggested time and then either turn the heat down and continue baking until it's crisp or turn the oven off and leave the tray in there for an hour or so (without opening the door) to dry it out.

Hi! This recipe looks delicious! Found this on Pinterest on my wild search for new recipes I can eat. My doctor doesn't want me having oil for 3 weeks because of a gallbladder problem I currently have. Do you have any suggestions on how to make this without the oil? Thanks!

Hi Amanda, substituting the oil here will give you an entirely different taste and texture. You can use applesauce instead but do know that your granola will be chewy and won't store for anywhere near as long (I find it usually only lasts up to a week)

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I'm Kristy, twenty-six, a coeliac, major bookworm and married to my very own Southern Gentleman. We've gone from 10,000 miles apart to right beside one another - finally home in Australia together.

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